The Dutch founder of a bitcoin ATM firm has gone to great lengths to highlight the digital currency -- implanting near-field communication (NFC) chips under his skin so he can use his hand to access his Bitcoin wallet.Martijn Wismeijer is the founder of mrbitco.in, which has installed bitcoin ATMs in the Netherlands, Belgium, Czech Republic and Italy.Earlier this month he decided the safest place for the private keys that will unlock his bitcoin wallet, was between the skin on his hands.The founder posted a video online showing himself and some interested parties having the implant -- a 2mmx12mm glass chip that stores 888 bytes, according to a report by International Business Times (IBT) -- secured under the skin using a syringe, all to a relaxing backing-track provided by Prodigy.While there's not much memory on the chip, it's enough to store things like key codes for a bitcoin wallet or other passwords.The process looks sterile enough, though was likely not undertaken by a doctor.As Wismeijer told IBT, "Most doctors will not want to install the implant so a body manipulation artist (preferably not just tattoo artist or piercer) will be your next best bet, but make sure they work according to strict hygiene codes and know what they are doing".

Of course, ensuring that when you are neither a doctor nor a "body manipulation artist", is probably not all that cut and dry.In the video, the volunteers are receiving the implants in a place called the old Prodent Toothpaste factory, during a biohacking session organised by a group called Permanent Beta.Wismeijer and co are far from the first people to attempt such a stunt.University of Reading cybernetics professor Kevin Warwick implanted RFID chips in his forearm back in 1998 in an attempt to control lights, heaters and computer equipment remotely.Then there's a group of Pittsburgh-based DIY biohackers called Grindhouse Wetware that are following in Warwick's footsteps, opting to plug magnets under their flesh, along with homemade devices that can log body temperature and heart rate.Wismeijer, though obviously wanting to highlight cryptocurrencies for anyone that's still not all that familiar with them, is very much in line with the likes of Professor Warwick and the DIY biohackers -- he wants us to start opening our front doors with our palms and flicking on devices at home with the wave of a wrist, rather than having to pull out a pesky NFC-equipped smartphone to do the job.Speaking to IBT, he said: "The reason I did take the implants is that I have real-world uses for it today, my phones and tablets are all compatible.

I personally feel that by supporting these biohacking developments we can learn what works and what doesn't and that some day, in the not so distant future we will be able to implant more functionality like sub dermal glucose sensors or heart rate monitors and other vital health monitoring devices."Likeethereum payment channelsthe Pittsburgh biohackers, he is experimenting with the implants in the hope of driving forward "social acceptance" of such things.litecoin electronics storeGrindhouse Wetware cofounder Tim Cannon says that once "your freaky cousin" gets one of his devices implanted, "then your next door neighbour gets LEDs in his skin, that's how things start to come into being".pay with litecoinWhile he's talking about a mass acceptance of transhumanism -- of modifying the body through science and technology to such an extreme you might replace a healthy limb with a bionic one -- Wismeijer talks about his experiment paving the way for implanted medical devices.The only problem with that argument -- that this experiment was for the good of scientific advancement rather than a PR stunt -- is that physicians are already experimenting with medical implants of all kinds.bitcoin central litecoin

Beyond the decades' old pacemaker, a team from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) has invented a tiny implant that analyses blood and sends data to a doctor, while continuous glucose monitors have been implanted and trialled in humans.Wismeijer's method is arguably designed to popularise and normalise these kinds of interventions, however.bitcoin crash december 16It shows how simple and quick the process is -- in the video, it takes moments for the implant to be introduced.bitcoin salt lake cityThe team warns it shouldn't be tried out until the skin has healed, but from the limited footage in the YouTube video, volunteers don't appear to experience that much discomfort and their hand does not look uncomfortable with the implant in.According to IBT, Wismeijer uses the implants to switch of an alarm clock and is planning on programming his own door lock so he can do away with house keys.Mr Bitcoin is all about security and the site has handy hints on staying protected.bitcoin madness

It's not clear how the whole stunt is that great of an advert for bitcoin, however, seen as under the site's "What the experts say" section is a one-line quote by none other than Bitcoin entrepreneur Martijn Wismeijer talking about how safe the whole thing is already.bitcoin six month chart"MrBitco.in is the safest, easiest and most efficient way to purchase Bitcoin in exchange for cash."bitcoin miner south africaThey forgot the tagline, "but you might want to stick your wallet key under your flesh to protect against thieves".Any serious Bitcoin user will preach the benefits of cold storage: keeping the bulk of your bitcoins offline somewhere, like on an encrypted USB stick, or even printed on a piece of paper.The idea is that by keeping that data offline, it’s far less susceptible to being hacked.So, the theory goes: what could be safer than keeping it inside your own body?

For the last 10 days, Martijn Wismeijer, a Dutch entrepreneur and Bitcoin enthusiast, has lived with an NFC chip embedded in each hand.One has data that he’s constantly overwriting; he can put his contact details in simply by having another person scan his hand with an NFC-enabled phone.But the other contains the encrypted private key to his wallet."I use it for cold storage, but it's not cold because it's 37 degrees Celsius inside my body!"he told Ars over Skype on Friday.Specifically, he has an "NFC Type 2 compliant NTAG216 RFID chipset" embedded in a tiny glass capsule (2 millimeters by 12 millimeters) that was injected into the fleshy part of his hand between his thumb and index finger.Each capsule can hold just 880 bytes of data, which is more than enough for a cold storage wallet., a Washington State-based website that sells to hobbyists and biohackers.3, 2014, Wismeijer had it installed by Tom van Oudenaarden of Piercing Studio Utrecht after his own Amsterdam doctor refused."My doctor doesn't like it!"

"He didn't want to do it, he just wants to make people better, and I’m not sick—I just want this thing inside my body.He was right, so that's why you need body manipulation artists."So how does Wismeijer actually use his hand-based system in practice?He gave me an example: as the CEO of Mr.Bitcoin, an Amsterdam-based firm that sets up Bitcoin ATMs in the Netherlands and Belgium, he frequently needs to stock bitcoins on those machines."We minimize our risk by storing most of them in cold storage and only when we see a lot of happening, do we transfer [to a hot wallet]," he said.Using Shamir’s Shared Secret—a cryptographic technique to split a secret amongst different people—Wismeijer and his colleagues have to provide a certain number of their private keys to unlock the company’s master cold storage wallet.They can either scan the NFC tags with a USB dongle, or from an NFC-enabled phone."To transfer funds to our network, we have to scan our tags, including my hand, which provides part of an encrypted private key, and then only then the phone will transfer to the hot wallet," he said.

"If you had a will, and everyone would have a will, you could create a shared secret and you could use that to execute the will.You can't find such a solution, there's no notary involved, it will revolutionize asset management."Of course, this isn’t the first time that people have installed NFC, or their predecessors (RFID) tags inside their own bodies.Back in 2004, a nightclub in Barcelona offered to implant RFID tags into the shoulders of a select group of customers so they could use it as a digital wallet rather than carry cash or credit cards.(Clearly, it hasn’t been met with widespread adoption.)Eventually, Wismeijer would like to replace his home door locks with NFC tags so that he can open his front door with just his hand. has been doing for nearly a decade.He too has the NFC chips installed in the webbing of his hands, and has $200 Samsung Ezon door locks on his house."Since 2005 that's what I've primarily been using it for, and I've been really happy," he told Ars."It unlocks when I reach for the doorknob, and I go in a little high, and it opens."